Crown Jewel 2019
Crown Jewel 2019 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view and WWE Network event produced by WWE for their Raw and SmackDown brands. It took place on October 31, 2019 at King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was the 4th event under the WWE in Saudi Arabia under their 10 year agreement, and the 2nd in the Crown Jewel chronology. Production Background In early 2018, the WWE began a 10-year strategic multiplatform partnership with the General Sports Authority in support of Saudi Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia's social and economic reform program. The first event under this new partnership, the Greatest Royal Rumble, was held at the King Abdullah Sports City's King Abdullah International Stadium in Jeddah on April 27. In September, a followup titled Crown Jewel was announced to be held on November 2. On September 27, it was announced that Hulk Hogan and The Undertaker would be making appearances at the event. Storylines The show included matches resulting from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results are predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands, while storylines are produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live. On the September 30 episode of Raw, WWE Hall of Famers Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair were guests on "Miz TV". After the two teased a match between each other, The Miz announced that at Crown Jewel, there would be a 5-on-5 tag team match between Team Hogan and Team Flair, with Hogan and Flair as the respective coaches. Universal Champion Seth Rollins and Randy Orton were selected as the captains of Team Hogan and Team Flair, respectively. Later, Rusev joined Team Hogan while King Corbin joined Team Flair. On the September 30 episode of Raw, Brock Lesnar and his advocate Paul Heyman interrupted an in-ring promo by Rey Mysterio. Lesnar proceeded to brutally attack Mysterio as well as Mysterio's son, Dominik, who was seated in the front row. After Lesnar defeated Kofi Kingston to win the WWE Championship on SmackDown's 20th Anniversary that Friday, Mysterio along with former Ultimate Fighting Champion (UFC) mixed martial artist Cain Velasquez appeared, making his WWE debut. Velasquez, the man who defeated Lesnar for the UFC Heavyweight Championship by technical knockout in 2010 at UFC 121, entered the ring and attacked Lesnar. Lesnar managed to escape and retreated. In a backstage interview, Velasquez stated he came to extract revenge from Lesnar for what he did to Mysterio and Dominik, who was later revealed to be Velasquez's godson. At the Crown Jewel press conference in Las Vegas on October 11, it was announced that Lesnar would defend the WWE Championship against Velasquez at Crown Jewel. During SmackDown's 20th Anniversary on October 4, Braun Strowman taunted professional boxer Tyson Fury, who was seated in the front row. After Strowman's match, Fury jumped the barricade only to be restrained by security. On the following Raw, Fury appeared, wanting an apology from Strowman. Strowman said he was just messing around on SmackDown until Fury seemed to indicate that he wanted to fight. After exchanging verbal insults, a massive brawl broke out between the two that had to be separated by security and other wrestlers. At the Crown Jewel press conference in Las Vegas on October 11, it was announced that Strowman would face Fury at Crown Jewel. At Hell in a Cell, the Universal Championship Hell in a Cell match between defending champion Seth Rollins and "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt ended by referee stoppage, thus Rollins retained. The Fiend, thought to be injured, proceeded to further attack Rollins after the match. On the October 11 episode of SmackDown (the first night of the 2019 WWE Draft), a match between Rollins (representing Raw) and Roman Reigns (representing SmackDown) was scheduled to determine which brand would earn the first draft pick of the night. Rollins won by disqualification due to The Fiend's interference, also earning Raw the first draft pick; The Fiend was later drafted to SmackDown. Although Rollins was drafted to Raw on the second night of the draft, a championship rematch between Rollins and The Fiend was scheduled for Crown Jewel as a Falls Count Anywhere match. That same night, as Wyatt hosted a segment of Firefly Fun House, Rollins appeared inside the fun house, attacked Wyatt, and set the fun house ablaze. At Super ShowDown, NXT's Mansoor, a Saudi native, won WWE's largest battle royal. On October 14, a match between Mansoor and Cesaro was scheduled for Crown Jewel. On the October 14 episode of Raw, what is being billed as the largest tag team turmoil match in WWE history was scheduled for Crown Jewel for the WWE World Cup (determining "the best tag team in the world"). Nine teams were announced for the match: The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and/or Xavier Woods), Heavy Machinery (Otis and Tucker), Lucha House Party (Lince Dorado, Gran Metalik, and/or Kalisto), Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder, The O.C. (AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and/or Karl Anderson), Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode, The B-Team (Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas), SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder), and Raw Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar). On October 23, a 20-man battle royal was scheduled for Crown Jewel with the winner receiving a United States Championship match against AJ Styles, also at the event. On October 30, a match between Natalya and Lacey Evans was scheduled for Crown Jewel, making it the first ever women's match in Saudi Arabia. Event Pre-show During the Crown Jewel Kickoff pre-show, the 20-man over the top rope battle royal was contested to determine AJ Styles' challenger for the United States Championship. Midway through the match, R-Truth pinned Sunil Singh (both who were eliminated from the match) with a roll-up to win the 24/7 Championship. In the end, Humberto Carrillo eliminated Erick Rowan to win the match. Preliminary matches The event opened with Brock Lesnar defending the WWE Championship against Cain Velasquez. The two started the match with grappling clinches. Velazquez when hit Lesnar with a body kick followed by a head kick, which dropped Lesnar. As Velasquez was going for the ground-and-pound punches, Lesnar lock him in the Kimura, forcing Velasquez to submit, thus Lesnar retained the championship. After the match, Lesnar attacked Velasquez with a steel chair until Rey Mysterio aided Velazquez by attacking Lesnar with a steel chair until Lesnar retreated. Next, was the tag team turmoil for the Best in the World Tag Team World Cup. Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler and Lucha House Party were the two teams that started. The first elimination came when Roode pinned Lince Dorado following the Glorious DDT. Next, were Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder who were then eliminated when Roode pinned Hawkins following a Spinebuster/Zig-Zag combination. The next team entered was Heavy Machinery. They eliminated Roode and Ziggler after Tucker pinned Ziggler following the Compactor. Next, was The New Day who eliminated Heavy Machinery when Kofi Kingston pinned Otis after a Trouble in Paradise. Next, was Smackdown Tag Team Champions The Revival. They were eliminated after Kofi pinned Scott Dawson following a Trouble in Paradise. They attack New Day after the elimination. Then the next team, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson picked up the elimination after Anderson pinned Kofi following the Magic Killer. The final team was Raw Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders. Gallows and Anderson won the match and the World Cup after Anderson pinned Ivar following the Magic Killer. Next, Mansoor took on Cesaro. Mansoor hit a Tornado DDT, but Cesaro put his foot on the rope, breaking up the pinball. As Cesaro went for a Gutwrench Suplex from the top rope, Mansoor executed a Powerbomb followed by a Moonsault on Cesaro for the win. After the match, Mansoor gave an emotional heartfelt speech to his home country. Backstage, Samir Singh pinned R-Truth to win the WWE 24-7 Championship after Truth ran into a door. Next, was the match between Braun Strowman and undefeated Heavyweight World Boxing Champion Tyson Fury. Outside the ring late in the match, Strowman knocked Fury down with a Drive-By. As Strowman tried to get back to the ring, Fury hit Strowman with a KO Punch that knocked Strowman off the apron and down to the floor, knocking him out. Strowman was unable to get back to the ring before the count, thus Fury won the match by countout. After the match, Strowman hit Fury with a Running Powerslam. Following, A.J Styles defended the United States Championship against Humberto Carrillo. Styles took out Carrillo's leg and locked in the Calf Crusher, but Carrillo made it to the ropes. Styles hit a Phenomenal Forearm to retain the championship. Then, Natalya took on Lacey Evans in the first ever women's match in Saudi Arabia. Evans hit a Moonsault on Natalya for a nearfall. Natalya locked in the Sharpshooter, forcing Evans to submit thus winning the match. Afterwards, the two shared an emotional embrace in the ring and then had in an embrace with several audience members before departing backstage. Next was a 5-on-5 tag team match between Team Hogan (Roman Reigns, Ricochet, Ali, Rusev and Shorty G) against Team Flair (Randy Orton, Bobby Lashley, King Corbin, Shinsuke Nakamura and Drew McIntyre). Late in the match, Reigns hit a Suicide Dive to the outside onto every member of Team Flair. As Reigns went to the Superman Punch, Orton encountered it into an RKO for a nearfall. When Orton went for the Punt Kick, Shorty tripped him up. Reigns executed a Spear on Orton to win the match for Team Hogan. The main event saw Seth Rollins defend the WWE Universal Championship against the "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt in a Falls Count Anywhere match where the match could only be won by pinfall or submission since the match couldn't be stopped for any reason. The two fought to ringside before fighting into the crowd. Wyatt would hit a Sister Abigail and put Rollins through a table. Back at ringside, Rollins attacked Wyatt with a steel chair, knocking him down on one of the announce tables. As Rollins went to the top rope for the flying elbow drop, Wyatt pushed Rollins off the top rope, causing him to fall through tables that were set up at ringside. The two would fight up to the ramp where Rollins would execute several Curb Stomps, but Wyatt would kick out each time. Rollins knocked Wyatt off the stage, causing Wyatt to fall on electrical equipment which caused it to spark. Wyatt would return to the stage where he would lock in the Mandible Claw. Wyatt hit Sister Abigail on an unconscious Rollins to win the match and become the new Universal Champion. Match Preview Results ; ; *Pre-Show: Humberto Carrillo won a 20-man Battle Royal the winner will face AJ Styles for the WWE United States Championship (12:25) *Brock Lesnar © (w/ Paul Heyman) defeated Cain Velasquez (w/ Rey Mysterio) by submission to retain the WWE Championship (2:10) *The O.C. (Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson) defeated The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) and The Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar) and Heavy Machinery (Otis & Tucker) and Lucha House Party (Lince Dorado & Gran Metalik) (w/ Kalisto) and Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder and The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder) and Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode and The B-Team (Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas) in a Nine-team Tag Team Turmoil match for the WWE World Cup (32:05) *Mansoor defeated Cesaro (12:45) *Tyson Fury defeated Braun Strowman by countout (8:04) *AJ Styles © (w/ Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson) defeated Humberto Carrillo to retain the WWE United States Championship (12:34) *Natalya defeated Lacey Evans (7:21) *Team Hogan (Roman Reigns, Rusev, Ricochet, Ali & Shorty G) (w/ Hulk Hogan & Jimmy Hart) defeated Team Flair (Randy Orton, King Corbin, Bobby Lashley, Shinsuke Nakamura & Drew McIntyre) (w/ Ric Flair & Lana) in a 10-man tag team match (19:50) *"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt defeated Seth Rollins © in a Falls Count Anywhere match to win the WWE Universal Championship (21:50) :* Other on-screen talent See also *List of WWE pay-per-view events *World Wrestling Entertainment/Event history *Event gallery DVD release * Crown Jewel 2019 on DVD External links * Crown Jewel 2019 Official website * Crown Jewel 2019 Pre Show on WWE Network * Crown Jewel 2019 on WWE Network * Crown Jewel 2019 Pre Show at CAGEMATCH.net * Crown Jewel 2019 at CAGEMATCH.net Category:Crown Jewel 2019 Category:World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events Category:2019 pay-per-view events Category:WWE Crown Jewel Category:Events with Falls Count Anywhere matches Category:Events with Battle Royal matches